Posted on 07/14/2006 3:52:12 PM PDT by rocksblues
HAZLETON, Pa. (AP) - The mayor signed a city ordinance Friday that punishes people who do business with illegal immigrants or provide them with jobs or housing, while critics said it was unenforceable and predicted it will be overturned.
Mayor Lou Barletta said his office will soon begin to train city workers in how to check people's immigration or citizenship status after the city council on Thursday passed one of the nation's strictest ordinances to fight illegal immigration on a 4-to-1 vote.
He also expects the City Council to approve a companion measure requiring all tenants to register with the city and prove their legal residency.
"We're also going to be talking with Immigration and Customs (Enforcement) to see if possibly we could receive some assistance," said Barletta, who said he wore a bulletproof vest to the vote as a precaution because the issue was emotionally charged.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Duh!
There will be lawsuits, but......BRING IT ON.
Let's have some court cases about immigration laws and enforcement at the local level. This new city law ties in with federal law, i.e. it's already illegal to hire illegals in this country under federal law. If a judge overturns this, this could set a new legal precedent.
On the face of things, I don't like the above one bit. Very un-American to have to "register" to live some place. With that said, I have a hunch that there is more to it than stated; since AP is the source, and they never miss an opportunity to paint actions like this in a bad light.
"The ordinance fines landlords $1,000 per day for each illegal immigrant living on their properties."
I'm confused. I'm a landlord. Should I screen all persons who apply for my properties? All I care about is whether they will pay their rent on time and keep the place clean. My husband is a very hands on type of landlord and would know if there were ten people living in one of our properties (we have five). So I really don't like this rule.
I'm currently a landlord, too. But it just might get too complicated. I can't screen Blacks or gays, but I have to screen Hispanics? Those aren't mutually exclusive. I don't want to be the test case in these laws.
Well, I guess we can forget about that assimilation jazz.
And nice how Dr. Lopez played the race card...in implying that the new ordinance
was an attempt to turn Latinos into "Anglos".
Gee, I wonder if Dubya (and the US Senate) has heard about this! (end sarcasm)
from tonight's Lou Dobbs transcript at
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/14/ldt.01.html
(start excerpt)
PILGRIM: Some immigrant rights groups are lived.
(VOA: "lived" is typist error for "livid")
DR. AGAPITO LOPEZ, HAZLETON LATINO ASSOC.: We will never convert ourselves into Anglos. We will aculturize. We will learn the language. We will learn the laws. We will follow the laws. But we will never assimilate.
(end excerpt)
And then I'd be sued by every person of color, homosexual persuasion or whatever. Or maybe just by Hispanics who were legal residents.
If Hazelton doesn't have a way for me to give them a name (and maybe SSN) for anyone who applied, and immediately tell me if they are legal residents, then they are asking me to do something that jeopardizes my security. Why should I take that chance?
No, I don't. And if this nonsense was restricted to Hazelton, I wouldn't care about it.
And how do you define "the problem"? The National "knee jerk" is to define the problem as Mexicans crossing the border on foot.
No matter that a Mexican who comes here to work in a low level job is less of a threat than a Communist who comes here to teach subversive ideas in our Universities.
No matter that a Mexican who comes here to work in a low level job is less of a threat than a Muslim who comes here thinking that being a suicide bomber is a good thing.
I sure do hope that most people spend some energy defining "the problem" before they assume they know "the solution".
ping
Actually, I think the biggest problem we have is that we are not assimilating the immigrants. The "melting pot" is what has sustained us for a long time.
I don't like the illegal immigrants, but I really loathe the Americans who want to turn us into a "multi-cultural" society.
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